Catherine Ardagh (Fianna Fail)
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Mr. Kearney has not been in his role for long so it is great to hear his language. It is very refreshing, especially when he discusses local schools and says it is very important for children to attend their local school. I counted and believe he said it three or four times. It is new language the NCSE is using, and it is noted, so I thank Mr. Kearney for that.

SEN education has come in leaps and bounds. In Dublin 12, a huge number of classes have opened. Not every school has a class and I believe there may be six without a SEN class. It would be great to see every school in Dublin South-Central having a SEN class. It would be great to show the rest of the schools in the country that this can be done, that this is one constituency that managed to do it.

As Mr. Kearney rightly said, schools need the support to open classes. They need to ensure they have enough teachers, SNAs and the additional supports my colleague mentioned, such as occupational therapy equipment, speech and language therapy equipment and sensory rooms. Mr. Kearney has clarified that the HSE is involved in providing the equipment for sensory rooms. That is a discussion that might need to go back into the remit of the NCSE because they very much go hand in hand. It is not possible to open a SEN class without providing a really good sensory room with sensory facilities. It just will not work correctly in terms of getting a child regulated properly because a child will not learn unless he or she is regulated properly. I say well done but we still have a lot to do. There are complete blackspots in Dublin 4, 6 and 6W and children are still travelling from these areas to Dublin 12. We are delighted to have them in Dublin 12, but children should be able to go to the same school their siblings are attending. It puts extra pressure on schools in Dublin 12, which want to do the best for local children. A body of work needs to be done there.

It is very difficult to get a child into an early intervention class. First, there are very few of them available. Second, an autism diagnosis is needed to get into an early intervention class.

We know that children are not being diagnosed because of the huge waiting lists. The only way a child can get into an early intervention class is by way of a private diagnosis. That is unfair on the child that only if his or her parents can afford it he or she might get into an early intervention class. There are none in Dublin 6W, there is one in Dublin 12 and one in Dublin 8. It is scandalous because we preach about early intervention but there are no early intervention classes. I have raised it previously but I would like to see the National Council for Special Education taking this on board and in particular, taking on board how to make them available and then how to get over the fact that children are not being diagnosed with autism because of another Department's shortcomings. That is a big stumbling block.

At what stage does a special educational needs organiser, SENO, get allocated to a child? Is it just at early intervention or when he or she starts primary school? Many parents will know their child has autism when the child is about two and a half years old. They may not have a diagnosis yet but are working with therapists. It is likely they have a diagnosis of autism but not a formal one because the HSE has not been able to given them space for a diagnosis or they cannot afford a private diagnosis. Even the waiting lists for private diagnosis are crazy. When does the SENO get involved? How do parents get their child in front of a SENO to map out the child's educational needs? Many parents approach us and tell us their child may or may not have autism but they really do not know where they are going, whether they can go to an early intervention class, opt for mainstream with an SNA or to an autism class. Parents need a good deal of guidance.

My specific questions are, when does the SENO get involved? What is the ambition in regard to early intervention classes?